Just set up my brooder and realized after adding the heat lamp that it looks like it could be a fire hazard. I've seen so many posts where people have used cardboard boxes that I ended up doing that this time rather than using a rubbermaid tote. I'm getting more chicks this time so I wanted to make a bigger space for them. They will only be in this set up for a couple of weeks and then moved to the coop with a heat lamp. Is this ok? I'm supposed to be getting my chicks sometime today or tomorrow!
You can test it by laying your hand on the cardboard. If it's too hot to leave your hand there, it may be to hot.
Is your light clipped or chained? If it's clipped, chain it. There's not much chance of the cardboard getting too hot unless the light actually drops on it, so prevent it from dropping on it with a chain or rope or both. I usually do a chain with an s-hook and also tie it up with a bit of twine just as a back up. Whatever you do, never trust the clip. Then, if you want a little more security, get yourself some wire, the side off an old dog cage, a grate of some sort, whatever, and lay it across the opening to catch the lamp if it does happen to fall. It'll also keep the little beasties from bouncing out if they end up inside long enough to be capable of it (and they always surprise me as to just how short a time that really is!) I'm an utter paranoid when it comes to raising my peeps and heat lamps (which is why I switched to all hot-water-bottle, outdoor spring raising and haven't looked back), but I have used cardboard in the past and survived. The big thing is to secure the lamp--if the lamp can't touch anything, can't fall, and can be contained if it does fall, you're good.
My light is attched to an extension cord and tied several times so that it couldn't drop. Thanks for the advice, I do feel better about it. I'll be watching it a lot over the next couple days since they will be in our attached garage and I can easily peek at them throughout the day. Thanks again!
This is my husband's greatest fear of all with raising new chicks. He's scared to death that the pine shavings will catch fire under a 95 degree bulb. I'm trying to assure him that tons of people do this all the time and I haven't yet read a post where the pine shavings spontaneously combust. *knock on wood*. We too secured our lamp and since it didn't come with a shield over the bulb, created one just in case.
